Profile picture
, 3 tweets, 1 min read
My Authors
Read all threads
1. Trump's speech was a mishmash of conflicting impulses, both to deescalate but also to talk tough.
2. Stepping back, it's important to realize that on foreign policy Trump is a fundamentally weak president, easily swayed by advisors but also by what he sees on TV (especially Fox) and by pushback (as with his walking back threats to Iranian cultural sites).
3. Trump's fickleness and lack of rudder makes it all the more imperative that there is a counterforce pushing him away from war -- both popular protests and also congressional checks. If there's an off-ramp, he has to be pushed towards it. thenation.com/article/iran-w…
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh.

Enjoying this thread?

Keep Current with Jeet Heer

Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

Twitter may remove this content at anytime, convert it as a PDF, save and print for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video

1) Follow Thread Reader App on Twitter so you can easily mention us!

2) Go to a Twitter thread (series of Tweets by the same owner) and mention us with a keyword "unroll" @threadreaderapp unroll

You can practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @HeerJeet see all

Profile picture
Jeet Heer
@HeerJeet
1. As we head towards the Senate trial it's useful to put Trump's impeachment in some perspective, which means recognizing that the outcome Watergate was the exception, not the norm. Successful Cover-ups are more common than president's being held to account.
2. Even Nixon didn't get punished for all his crimes, even his worst ones. Watergate was small potatoes to the fact that as a candidate in 1968, Nixon covertly scuttled peace talks in Vietnam in order to win the election.
3. At least one former Trump official sees Nixon's 1968 soliciting of foreign help (as well as the alleged deal Reagan made with Iran in 1980) as a positive precedent for Russia co-operation, as @dfriend pointed out in Mother @MotherJones motherjones.com/politics/2020/…
Read 5 tweets
Profile picture
Jeet Heer
@HeerJeet
1. So a few thoughts on the American literary canon, the Library of America, pulp fiction, hard boiled detectives, Ross Macdonald, pirating J.R.R. Tolkien, Hugh Kenner and Samuel R. Delany.
2. When the Library of America was launched in 1982, the critic Hugh Kenner wrote an interesting critique in Harper’s arguing that the emerging list (Melville, Hawthorne, Whitman, Beecher Stowe) was a very constricted, very conservative New England canon.
3. Kenner thought if the Library of America was going to survive it would have to embrace both experimental writing (the tradition of Pound-Williams-Moore plus the Beats) and genre fiction (he named his friend the detective novelist Ross Macdonald).
Read 16 tweets
Profile picture
Jeet Heer
@HeerJeet
1. People love dunking on Bret Stephens but Tom Friedman is unmatched in the heights of idiocy he regularly achieves. Check this out: nytimes.com/2020/01/03/opi….
2. "One day they may name a street after President Trump in Tehran. Why? Because Trump just ordered the assassination of possibly the dumbest man in Iran and the most overrated strategist in the Middle East: Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani." Tom Friedman.
3. Here's the proper Friedman link for tweet #1: nytimes.com/2020/01/03/opi…
Read 4 tweets

Related threads

Profile picture
Dannielle Blumenthal PhD
@DrDannielle
1) OK let's talk Turkey.
2) Here is the spreadsheet where I'll put information that is date-specific. Let's see if that works as a supplement to the thread.

docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d…
3) Before we begin. This is not a referendum on Nikki Haley, just the events of the day.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikki_Hal…
Read 105 tweets
Profile picture
𝓡𝓸𝓷𝓭𝓪 °•
@40_Ronda
Why aren't Americans taking about the foreign influence in the US government that continues to send our men and woman to fight immoral wars?

#Trump when he campaigned for president, before he decided to let Adelson fund his campain!

Adelson was one of the biggest donors to Trumps presidential campain. Adelsons company saved 670 million dollars from the massive republican tax break. Adelson did not support the Iran deal & wanted the US embassy moved to Jerusalem.

Adelson has a direct line to #potus!

Adelson has private in-person meetings & phone conversations about once a month with #Trump!

Adelson used his access to move the embassy in Israel to Jerusalem and cut aid to Palestinians.

nytimes.com/2018/09/22/us/…

nytimes.com/2018/09/22/us/…
Read 241 tweets
Profile picture
Nabeel Nowairah
@NabeelNowairah
What's happening in the Saudi decision-making? Why do we see disagreements between KSA and the UAE? Is it true that MBS is in disagreement with King Salman on the relationship with the UAE?
To answer these questions, it is important to realize that MBS foreign policy has changed since the beginning of 2019; I would say to a wiser direction. This is mainly attributed to the important changes in MBS's inner circle and close advisers.
Saud Al-Qahtani and Turki Al-Sheikh enjoyed unrestricted access to MBS. Their main focus was Qatar where they used any means possible to contempt and attack Qatari leadership after the breakout of the GCC Crisis in June 2017.
Read 9 tweets
Profile picture
The Strategy Bin
@StrategyBin
06/01/2019 - 78 years ago today, the longest-serving #UnitedStates #President, #Franklin D. #Roosevelt (#FDR) addressed the 77th #Congress with his "#Four #Freedoms" speech with the intent to shift #US #foreign #policy from that of #neutrality to #interventionist.
#FDR promoted the idea that the people of the world, in all nations, shared entitlement to four freedoms: that of the freedom of speech and expression, the freedom of worship, the freedom from want and the freedom from fear.
#FDR is arguably one of the most 'successful' #US Presidents. Some would argue that on the basis of his numerous social policies such as 'the New Deal'. Others, however, would argue that his role during the second world war was more prevalent to his success & everlasting legacy.
Read 39 tweets
Profile picture
#PoorPeoplesCampaign
@billyjoecain
At dinner, I learned more about corruption + racism built into society by our masters. A book we discussed (Zinn) was used as part of this "Left" resource's bibliography. I had to share. [A thread]

@BlackSocialists - thoughts on this resource?

historyisaweapon.com/indextrue.html
It very simply lays out the case that we are all being controlled. It covers hidden history of the United States including their (and, due to the systems created by our masters, our) racism. 

#racism #systemicracism #history
If you haven't been in school for a while (or are in a terrible school), some of the words might trip you up. Dictionary.com and Wikipedia.org are two good resources to help you.
Read 39 tweets
Profile picture
Zach Everson
@Z_Everson
Trump Hotels' website still lists Trump SoHo New York among its properties in the Our Hotels menu. Select its name though to access its page and there's a message about it being renamed

bit.ly/2EPCSy1
National politics correspondent for Newsweek, Nina Burleigh, with a fun find on a TV above the bar at the Trump Hotel DC bit.ly/2E37QRR
Two errors in the 2nd graf of Breitbart's Trump Hotel DC article:
-holdings aren't out of @realDonaldTrump's hands: trust isn't blind & he can profit from it
-Trump Org told Congress it was estimating foreign receipts—not auto donating in full
bit.ly/2CpL7z2
Read 1562 tweets

Trending hashtags

#Account #Qamishli #S1 #PersianGulf #Twitter #CNN #Russian #israeliterrorism #Turkish #SyriaArmy #Qatar #SNA #mercenary #terrorists #trumpmilitaryparade #PublicLaw #terrorism #occupation #Barishah #USRealTerrorists #Zarif #GulfStates #ProtectDemocracy #soldiers #KAG
Follow Us on Twitter!

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!

This site is made by just three indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3.00/month or $30.00/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal Become our Patreon

Thank you for your support!